Feelings
by Floppiefish
Summary: I'm not sure how to summarize this except that it's just about what happened after Hinata's confession.
1. Chapter 1

"Because, I love you"

Naruto was in his room thinking of that one line, over and over again. In the back of his mind he always remembered those words. This was the first time he was able to think about them freely. The third great ninja war had just ended. The masked man, Toby, is deceased and Sasuke is locked up in jail. He just couldn't believe it. Naruto had risen above all his challenges. Only one obstacle was in his way; Love. The more he thought about it the more he squirmed. All of Hinata's mannerisms, how she acted towards him, everything, just started to make sense. Of course after he thought about how obvious the girl was with her feelings he started to also realize how much of an idiot he was. He starts to roll over in embarrassment and thinks

'Wow I'm so stupid.'

In all honesty though, could you blame the orange clad doofus for not noticing the obvious signs of affection from one specific moon eyed woman? Not when his own feelings were for one particular pink haired kunoichi.

'I'm in love with Sakura'

Of course, it probably wouldn't be very hard to move on. Considering the fact that the girl in question couldn't care less for him. She would even say fake feelings of love just to calm him before a huge blow. Such as, "I love you… Oh and by the way we need to kill Sasuke" Although that did anger Naruto to no end, he couldn't bring himself to hate Sakura. In fact his feelings for Sakura were still well intact. He really had no plans to extract those feelings. Until Hinata…

Naruto, not knowing how to assess the situation, jumps up from his bed and concludes for the moment, "I'll figure it out. Until then, I need some ramen. I'm starving!" He was troubled but maybe a bowl of his favorite food could help him figure things out. With new enthusiasm he quickly forgets his problems with the resolution of 'I'll fix it later' and races to his favorite place in the whole wide world. Ichiraku Ramen.

. . .

Sakura just came back from a mission in Suna. She needed to deliver some reports to the Kazekage, Gaara. Nothing big, but well timed. Sakura was assigned the mission a few days after everything went back to normal. She wanted to keep busy to ignore the fact that the village needed to be rebuilt, again. Also the fact that her 'frenemy' was within village walls made her fidgety. Now that everything was over she had to revisit old memories. Naruto was her best friend. She couldn't avoid him forever. Now that nothing was keeping them busy she couldn't help but to notice they haven't had a real conversation since her confession. A confession that made her flinch in embarrassment for she got the cold sting of rejection. It's true that she did say she loved Naruto, when she was supposed to deliver the news of killing Sasuke. God save her for she has the worst timing but nothing was false! She had truly grown a love for Naruto over the years. Genuine love. Not just with looks but with everything. His smile, his eternal optimism, his laugh, how he cares for everything and everyone. To Sakura, and to everyone else in the village who witnessed Naruto's actions, he seemed an indestructible force. No matter how difficult the situation, he would always overcome any obstacle headed his way. Naruto was a symbol of hope and Sakura loved everything he stood for. How ironic this love was! Naruto was nothing like Sasuke, yet he captured her heart just the same. Only it was too late. She knew he could never hate her, that isn't in his character. Naruto just will never accept her love, even backed up with good-timing. For he will always think she still loves Sasuke.

'This is what I get for being such a bitch to him all those years.' Sakura thought grimly, 'I don't deserve him.'

She almost cried right then out of self pity but pulled it together when she saw the gates of Konoha. She greeted the guardsmen with her usual cheeriness, masking any other emotion flawlessly. Sakura wanted to deliver her report to Tsunade, stating her success of the mission. On the way she sees Ichiraku's. It was strange, she just couldn't help but to stop by. It was as if she needed to , surprised at Sakura's rare appearance, greets her warmly. She orders chicken ramen, Submerged with thoughts of Naruto and how she was going to face him again.

"Sakura?" Naruto's confused voice sends feeling of panic. She really did have the worst timing.

A/n: After looking at this story again I thought I should make some changes. I think its better this way(hope ya'll think so too)


	2. Chapter 2

A blonde nurse dressed in white entered a bland room. Within the room there was a woman who had resided there for over 5 days. After a mission in the land of waves had gone awry she landed in the hospital unconscious. The poor girl had a few broken ribs and fingers, sprained her ankle and had a concussion. She was immediately identified as Hinata Hyuuga. Although her condition was bordering severe at the time of admission, everything now seemed under control. The nurse checked the monitors to see if there were any concerning factors, but everything checked out fine. She suspected that the girl would wake up within the day. The room was dreary and unexciting with white walls. There was a single bed in the middle of the floor along with a small night stand next to it. There was a window that displayed a playground with small children. Suddenly a ball hit the glass, which gave a lifeless Hinata a small twitch. The nurse, startled, nears Hinata.

"Hello?" She whispers sweetly with a calming smile, as if to encourage her to wake up, "I'm your nurse, Sumara." Hinata didn't move for another minute or so. Right when the nurse was about to leave, thinking it was a false alarm, she sees her twitch again. "Hinata?" the nurse questions. Hinata slowly lifts an eye that seems to have forgotten how to open and reveals her shockingly white iris. The girl flinches from the light and quickly covers her poor unadjusted pupils, to reveal a cast on her hand. Bandages covered her head. She also felt a cast on her leg and more bandages on her torso. She noticed on her night stand was a bunch of flowers and 'get well soon cards' but what stood out was a bouquet of pink carnations. Her body felt heavy and weak, like 50 lb. weights were pressing onto her small frame. "How long was I asleep?" She asks barely above a whisper, surprised at how raspy her voice sounds from misuse.

" About five days. You were really beat up." Sumara says while handing her a glass of water.

Hinata's eyes widen "Five whole days?" she exclaims while moving slightly too fast causing her head to ring. The nurse holds her hand up to stop her. Her dark eyes scolding.

"Don't movie too fast." It was too much for Hinata to stand still. Memories flooded back into her head like a shock wave. The mission was complete and she had to head back home. Along the way she was ambushed.

"What happened to me? I was attacked but I can't remember who did it." Hinata clutches her hands to her now greasy black hair as her ivory eyes widen in fear. As if she could squeeze the memories out from her pounding head.

"Calm down. You were found by ninjas passing through. You were unconscious but no one could find who did it. It was most likely thugs that blind sighted you for money." The nurse said matter-of-factly. Hinata wasn't convinced and knew better. No 'thug' could taker her down so easily. She made her skepticism obvious with the quizzical look in her eye, but knew not to argue with a simple nurse who was just doing her job.

...

Sakura?" Naruto questions. His bright blue eyes at first filled with confusion and something else Sakura couldn't quite point out. All she knew was her own feelings of panic. Her green eyes widened. This was going to be the first time they talked to each other, one on one, since her confession. A lot has happened. 'The Third Great Ninja War', The revival of all the dead and the defeat of Sasuke and the Akutski's 'Toby',the thought of everything made her head spin. This was also the first time she was really able to relax. She looked back at her soup for a split second, took a deep breath and smiled wearily. Naruto took this as an invitation.

"Hey, I haven't seen you in a long time. At least this casually." Naruto adds sheepishly. Naruto sits down with his usual happy self. He greets the owner and in time has his order in front of him. He drools as the smell assaults his nostrils. This is just what I needed, Naruto thought. Sakura was on the bottom of the list of people he wanted to see. Not because he was angry but because he had figured nothing out.

"I know. It's crazy how everything that happened is behind us now. I still can't believe Sasuke's here." Sakura says. Once Sasuke was captured he was held up in the Konoha community jail. His sentence was a few months in prison with 2 years community service. Not bad for a class s ninja. He will have to thank Naruto for that. After a few minutes of awkward silence the tension built up. Sakura stirred her noodles around for a few minutes while Naruto ate in silence. Sakura couldn't take it anymore, she suddenly stood up.

"Look, Naruto I have to go" Sakura blurted out after stuffing what was left of her soup into her mouth. She threw money on the counter. "I just remembered, I have an errand to run for Tsunade." Naruto threw his hand on her shoulder. Noodles were stuffed in his mouth so she could barely hear him say "Wait. I haven't talked to you in forever. Don't leave yet." Sakura giggled, but stopped short. "I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you." She half smiled before leaving in a hurry.


	3. Chapter 3

Hinata lifted the bundle of flowers and sniffed them. They were quite pretty and smelled lovely as well. She knew they were carnations and they were a lovely shade of pink. 'I wonder who gave me these,' she thought. She had an idea but dismissed the thought of her loving blonde prince coming around at long last. It had been quite sometime since her confession, and Naruto had never said a word of it. He never even showed up at the hospital after the Pain situation. It was clear where they stood. Kiba had given her a card with a lone orange rose, Shino gave her a bear, and Kurenei gave her a vase full of large sunflowers. Even Neji and Ten-ten gave her a small gift basket. Hinata had never gotten so much for an injury. It seemed that everyone was worried about her. She wasn't complaining. The gifts gave the bland room some color. The day she was ambushed was a blur. Many questions engulfed her mind. Who attacked me? How could he take me down so easily? What did they want? My eyes. Impossible. They'd be gone or I wouldn't be here. In fact why am I here? What was the point of attacking me without leaving me dead or taking something of mine? Maybe it was information. Then once they got it they wiped my memory clean. Hinata jumped when a man suddenly ripped the door open. "Hey Hinata! I heard you finally woke up" Announced her old time teammate, Kiba, putting much emphasis on the 'finally.'

Hinata sighed in relief. Her heart practically skipped a beat! "Kiba! You can't just barge in like that. You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Kiba scoffed," Where's the fun in that?" Kiba challenged with a mischievous smile. "I'm just kidding. I'm glad your awake though. You gave us a scare, being in a coma and all. I haven't seen you beat up like that in a long while." His smile faltered and a sullen expression took over.

"I can't remember what happened. I know it wasn't something as simple as thieves."

"I know that. You know the healers couldn't fix your broken bones. Something blocked the chakra. The nurse says they had to be healed on their own" Hinata's eyes widened. She knew it was strange but never questioned it. "That's why your concussion wasn't healed as fast. You would've been awake a long time ago." Kiba added with a hint of frustration.

"Not even Tsunade?"

"Well, that's the thing. Tsunade has been so busy lately we couldn't contact her."

"Oh," was all Hinata could say about that subject.

"Do you know who brought me these?" Hinata pointed to the pink flowers, in a attempt to change the subject. "There's no name on them. I can't find a card or nothing."

"I have no idea."

Sakura ran from the scene as fast as she could, leaving Naruto to stare after her. He wasn't going to chase after her. He knew things were complicated. "What's eating you two?" Teuchi asked, eyebrow raised.

"Oh nothing. We're just" He pauses for a moment in thought, ending with an exasperated "figuring some stuff out." Naruto finishes his meal quickly and turns to leave. "It's nothing big. So don't worry." He gives his 100-watt smile and exits the small eatery. Naruto walks into the city. It was being rebuilt once more. Sasuke had done quite the damage. It had been only a few weeks since he came back, and Naruto hasn't visited him once. Another irony that many civilians haven't ignored. Naruto had wanted to see his old friend, but hadn't had the heart to go through with it quite yet.

...

Footsteps were heard in the hallway of the hospital. High heels hit the tiles as if the woman wearing them had determination to do something. Her voice was loud and clear,

"What do you mean you couldn't heal her bones?" She shouted angrily. "Why am I just hearing about this now, I'm the Hokage!" Hinata's blank eyes stared at the door in anticipation for she knew that Tsunade was coming for her. The heels stopped short behind the door which was slammed open. Tsunade had a look of slight irritation. A Sumara was hot on her trail.

"Look miss-" Tsunade held her hand up in frustration and marched over to Hinata. Her look softened a bit, " Hello Hinata. Sorry to bother you but I need to take a look at your broken hand. If what this nurse says is true then we got a problem." Tsunade grabbed her hand. A green glow surrounded Hinata's fingers. Her bones themselves felt the same after she was finished, broken and sore. Tsunade stepped back with a blank look on her face.

"That's impossible"

A/n: Hey guys..hehe.. Haven't posted in quite the while. Sorry, to be honest I kinda forgot about this story and when I saw it again I realized I had a lot of stuff left that I didn't post yet. So here it is :D I like it so far :P Let me know you do too. Also any errors you see please let me know about that also. If theres one thing that peeves me when reading, is when the flow is ruined by a stupid typo.(there shouldn't be, but just in case c:)


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura ran at top speed. She had no idea where she was going but she had to free herself of the claustrophobia she had inherited when sitting with Naruto. It had seemed the walls of the Ramen shop closed in as the silence slowly suffocated her. Fresh air rushed into her lungs as she sprinted, well, anywhere but there. Sakura headed towards a secluded area. Far from the city she suddenly stopped at a tree that loomed high in a green park. Away from the city and away from the people. She perched herself beside a strong oak.

Sakura was a strong woman. A little too strong at points, even she had to admit, but it only went so far. She let her mind wander for just a moment as she slid down the bark and sat on soft grass. The oak seemed to support her in more ways than one. The sturdy tree shielded her from the bright sun, cooling her off. Her eyes closed as she sighed. Was she this much of a coward? The girl knew this whole charade was pathetic. No matter how much she tried to justify her escape, she understood that all she was doing was running away. Her thoughts of "facing him seemed impossible" angered her. Naruto was still Naruto. A moron, an idiot who would be kind enough to ignore her impulsive confession. It would be easy, her brain whispered, but her heart felt completely different. She wanted Naruto to acknowledge her new found discovered feelings, not bury them.

Green eyes focused on the clouds passing lazily by and suddenly she remembered- Sakura really did have to report back to Tsunade. Ah, work. It sounded pretty good in her mind. It would distract her. She stretched out like a lazy cat and headed towards the Hokage's office. The city streets blended into a grey blur as she steadily sped up. Finally she saw it, the largest building in all of Konoha; The Hokage building. It loomed over every other place, creating a dignified look. It gave Sakura hope. She halted and took deep breaths to adjust to the abrupt stop. When she collected herself she entered the building.

Chaos ensued. Papers flew in all directions and cabinet files disheveled in unorganized piles, medical ninjas scrambled like chickens without their heads in all different directions The scene occurring before her left her dumbfounded. Sakura's jaw fell slightly slack as her eyes widened. A few seconds were needed to gather her wits about her just in time to see Shizune scurry by her. The pinkette followed pace and tapped her.

"Oh Sakura! Thank Goodness! We need as many intelligent ninja's as we can find!" Exclaimed the Hokage's assistant.

"Shizune, what on earth is-"

"I have no time to explain here Sakura, just follow me to the Hokage's office," The petite short hair woman interrupted. Sakura obeyed and practically jogged to Tsunade's room. Shizune rushed into the office without notice. Sakura felt it was rude but noticed why she so abruptly walked in. Tsunade was in deep concentration. When Tsunade focused this much on work nothing could distract her. Sakura cautiously stepped inside. Three hurricanes and two tornadoes must've had a field day in the 'office'. It was even more messy than the walk in. _What the hell happened._

Sakura found her voice.

"Tsu- Tsunade!" Sakura practically yelled to get her attention. Nothing. She simply ignored her. Sakura had to try again "Tsu-"

"Hold on a minute Sakura!" Tsunade ordered. The kunoichi stopped short and waited. She knew her master meant business. She had to be patient. After a moment of silence, Tsunade lifted her face . Her blue eyes had dark circles underneath her tired lids. Her blonde hair was a greasy mess even though it was restrained by ponytails. Sakura now understands the extent of the situation. It must be quite serious if _the _Tsunade let her looks falter. Sakura narrows her eyes.

"What exactly happened?" She questions sternly

"We've got a serious problem. It deals with the safety of the village," Tsunade begins in a slow and even tone. "It seems like someone has figured out how to prevent our ninjas from healing our injured."

Sakura's eyes stare at the Hokage in a quizzical manner. "What does that mean?"

"It means we are in a load of trouble if we don't fix this by the time another nation finds out about our weakness."

Naruto had no idea how or why but he somehow found himself standing in front of Konoha jail. After Sakura's departure Naruto ate his ramen and left not too long after. Naruto had come to a conclusion; Sakura was lost. She didn't know it, but she was confused. Naruto would not take advantage. He loved Sakura but he drew a line. In his heart of hearts he knew she could never love him like he loved her.

He wandered the village for hours and was subconsciously pulled to a certain destination. The entrance was blocked by the forest landscape. Trees had covered it flawlessly. After the forest landscape one had to climb the mountain path. It lead to the entrance of the Jail. After 20 minutes Naruto had finally reached the top. The dungeon itself proved to be a dangerous place. Lava surrounded the facility. Only a single strip of volcanic rock connected land to building. He reached the door. Naruto had to do this. The time to see Sasuke was long overdue. A guard saw him and demanded his reason to invade into their territory.

"I need to visit someone," He replied cautiously with a weary smile.

"Visiting hours are almost done," A burly man with a gruff voice spat.

"It won't be long. Five minutes at most. The man I plan on visiting isn't much of a talker" Naruto explained with a confident smile.

The man contemplated for a moment on whether or not he should trust this fool in an orange jumpsuit, but then he thought if he didn't comply with their rules it would mean more fun for him in the long run. It had been quite the while since he had gotten his hands dirty. How long has it been? Three days. Damn. With a grunt he stepped aside and let out a "Don't be too long, or I'll find you." A second guard, equally as intimidating, lead the blonde inside. It was well lit and clean, surprisingly, and had a front desk in which the man asked for Naruto's information. After all official information was exchanged he then asked which inmate he planned to visit. Of course he answered Sasuke Uchiha. The guard gave a look of surprise but without saying a word guided Naruto to the correct room. He told Naruto he had ten minutes til visiting hours were over. Plenty of time, thought Naruto.

The door they stood in front of was plain with a tiny slit of a window. It slid open as the guard performed a certain jutsu. Naruto stepped in cautiously. The room itself was blank with a lone table in the middle. Two chairs were placed next to the table. In one sat a nonchalant looking Sasuke. The man had a dangerous aura surrounding him. Naruto noticed his arm was chained to the desk. _I wonder if that could really hold him down in any way. _Naruto sighed at that. And took his place across from the Uchiha.

"Hello Sasuke, long time no see." Started Naruto. His confident eyes looked straight into his former teammate's. Black clashing with blue. Sasuke returned with a cocky smile, "Not long enough."

With this Naruto slightly frowned. "Sasuke, is being back at home really that awful?"

"Tch. My _home,_is certainly not here. I feel surrounded by cockroaches." Sasuke stated. He could've sworn he heard him whisper harshly, "Pests that must be exterminated." His dark eyes displayed such ferocity Naruto felt uncomfortable. He then regained his composure in half a seconds time and set a look of pity upon his old friend.

"Stop looking at me like I'm some deranged psychopath in need of intense therapy. Once this village planned for the demise of my clan they had set themselves up for destruction."

"Sasuke I too had lost everything, but I am now at peace with the Kyuubi and of my unfortunate fate." Naruto offered. He hoped the empathy would be of some comfort to the angsty man.

"You may be satisfied but I am not. They need to pay" Sasuke spat bitterly and angrily.

"Aren't you being a little melodramatic?" Naruto sighed. Sasuke gave a ferocious glare, as if Naruto had spewed the most offensive line he'd ever heard. Naruto only widened his eyes in surprise.

"I don't expect you to understand. That day began the rest of my life. Nothing will ever be the same." It was true, Naruto did not understand. The Sasuke he witnessed before him was entirely new. His Sasuke had died long ago, in the chunnin exams. Naruto got up and gave a long sad look. It wasn't of pity but of loss. Sasuke needed extensive amounts of time in order to go back to normal. Simple jail time wasn't going to cut it. He backed away towards the door.

"Sasuke, I hope you rest your demons one day and come to peace with yourself. Revenge is out of the question. You're locked away. Even though they set you to leave in two months, if you show you're still a threat to the village, they will keep you here even longer." The blonde warned.

As he opened the door and he walked out, Naruto suddenly heard the insane man talk to himself, whispering "My time will come. With my new 'friends'." A crazy laugh echoed through the hallways and left chills all down through Naruto's spine.

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A/n: Hey

OK. Its been a while lol. I work on this story when I gots ze free time. Writing for fun is quite time consuming. *sigh* Also I'd like to address why the development is so slow. I know I put this as a "Naruto/ Hinata" story and there hasn't been much action between the two BUT please know its because I'm attempting a storyline. I know, I know, normally its all " BAM Hinata and Naruto are together! Happy time!" Not this time I'm afraid. Well 'afraid' for anyone who expected otherwise. Its actually going to be a while before they meet. I hope its entertaining enough to the point where it kinda doesn't matter for now. Sorry for the inconvenience. Until next time :SD


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